Make 3G Video Calls On Your iPhone with Yahoo! Messenger 2.0

Yahoo! recently released its latest update to the Yahoo! Messenger 2.0 [App Store link] application for the iPhone. This app lets you connect with your IM friends and make free voice and video calls to everyone on your Messenger account. You can also use it to make low cost calls to land line or mobile phones, as well as make calls to PCs and Android devices.

Being able to make video calls is a welcomed addition to an already popular application on iOS devices, and is especially useful if you’re looking for a quick way to connect with friends visually. In this article, I will go over all the new features associated with this application.

Making Calls with Yahoo! Messenger 2.0

We’ll start with the most important update to the application–making calls. With this app, you can now make both video and voice calls to your Yahoo! Messenger friends. Calls can be made to either iOS to iOS, iOS to PC or iOS to Android devices.

To make video calls and stream live video one-to-one, it is preferable to have an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, iOS 4.1 and WiFi connection.

Voice calls are also free to your Messenger friends, but you are also able to make low cost voice calls to landlines and mobile phones, as well as low cost international calls with a Yahoo! Voice Phone Out account. This feature is available in the following markets: US, France, Germany, Spain and Singapore.

Multitasking

Another new feature incorporated into the app is multitasking. Quite simply, what this allows you to do is work with your other iPhone apps while Yahoo! Messenger runs in the background. This feature is available for iPhone 3GS/4 users running iOS 4.1.

Multitasking is a huge addition to this app if you ask me. It allows you to do other things while waiting for a response to the people you’ve messaged, and also gives you the opportunity to access your other files in the middle of a conversation. No more “I’ll check and get back to you later.”

What Else Can You Do with This App?

Now that we’ve tackled the major updates, lets look at some of the other features that make this a useful application for your phone. You can still use the Yahoo! Messenger app to send free SMS messages to your friends, although they may be charged a fee depending on their carrier’s policies.

Also, get notified for every message you receive with push notification support. Now you can know when a new message arrives regardless of whether the app is running, in the background, or even if it’s not open.

You can bring your friends into one place by adding your Windows Live Messenger contacts to your buddy list, and capture and share iPhone photos and video with them in real-time, as well as all of your Yahoo! Messenger buddies.

And in case you were wondering, the app’s performance has been enhanced, offering a “simpler, faster, richer Yahoo! Messenger experience at your fingertips.” Rich text and personal expressions–like emoticons and avatars–are also in play.

Conclusion

If you use Yahoo! Messenger to keep in touch with your friends and you also own an iPhone or other iOS device, I see no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of this app. With the new updates, Yahoo! offers a simple way to keep in touch with your friends and contact them via texting, calling by phone, and even video chat.

It’s also great to see that this app works across different platforms such as the PC and Android, so even if your buddies don’t have an iPhone the chances are good that you can still message them for free with this app.

Do you use Yahoo! Messenger to keep in touch with your friends? If not, will you be now that this update has come out? Leave your thoughts, ideas, and comments below!